JOB DESCRIPTION

Position Information

Conservation
Position title: Associate Head – Conservation Unit:

Directly
Chief Conservation Officer Location: Dubai
reports to:

Direct Type of Full time – 1 year

None
reports: contract: (renewable)

Joining Date: Q1 2024

Background

Emirates Nature is a UAE environmental non-governmental organization, established under the

patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s representative in the Western
Region and Chairman of Environmental Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD).

We work in association with WWF (hereafter EN-WWF), one of the world’s largest and most
respected independent conservation organizations. EN-WWF has been active in the UAE since 2001
and has successfully initiated and implemented several conservation and education projects and
initiatives in the region.

EN-WWF works federally and in the region with offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah and is
governed by a local board of directors. It is our organizational objective to ensure a high performing
workforce within our offices with highly efficient, skilled members all of whom will be unilaterally
focused on supporting and delivering conservation activities within the UAE and our stakeholders.

Job summary

The Associate Head (AH) for the Conservation Unit will play a critical role in supporting the Chief
Conservation Officer (CCO) in overseeing project implementation as well as scaling up the
conservation portfolio in line with the organizational strategy across the following areas: nature and
wildlife, climate action, green economy and market transformation, and food and water security. The
primary responsibilities of this position includes supporting the CCO in delivering tasks, coordinating
activities and tracking activities across the unit as needed by the CCO which relate to administrative
and operational tasks, project oversight, donor management and reporting, stakeholder management
and engagement, monitoring and evaluation, business development and fundraising and unit-wide
engagement and interaction. The position will require working closely with the project team to
oversee monthly and quarterly progress review against set milestones and budget management and
ensuring donor requirements are met in a timely fashion and high-quality standards.
 Major duties and Key Responsibilities

Major tasks and responsibilities include but not limited to:

 Strategy review and growth: Support the unit in delivering the conservation strategy by
tracking progress and identifying strategic opportunities for growth in line with the
organization strategy and UAE broader context. Support the director in charting our new
opportunities and supporting in developing the suggested staffing approach, resource
allocation, budget and team development as needed and agreed with CCO.
 Administrative & operational: Oversee the delivery of the unit workplans, financial and
operational requirements linked to project management tools, internal reporting, development
of PowerPoint presentations and communication tools, tracking finances, updating budgets
and scheduling support.
 Project implementation oversight: Collaborate with project teams to ensure consistent
progress in project tracking, budget management and financial reporting (monthly, quarterly
reviews).Check in with project teams to identify upcoming areas of needed support by CCO,
and gather information needed by CCO to report internally to management team. Support the
Unit Director in overseeing the operations, implementation, and tracking of progress of
conservation projects.
 Donor reporting: organizing donor communication, reviewing donor reports and scheduling
appropriate times for reporting needs. Prepare and/or review regular reports to donors, the
board, and external stakeholders, providing updates on project status, achievements, and
challenges.
 Stakeholder management & engagement: support in facilitating, preparing for and organizing
stakeholder meetings which may include: briefing CCO on stakeholders and conducting
background research, developing PowerPoint presentations, facilitating and coordinating the
follow up tasks from meetings, coordinating and communicating with project teams on tasks,
planning for next steps and setting up subsequent meetings.
 Impact Monitoring: Follow monitoring and evaluation processes to measure and report
project success against impact, refine existing process and implement it in ways to allow
strategic oversight of project implementation. This may include: setting up, coordinating and
facilitating regular team engagements on monitoring and evaluation to increase
communication on progress towards objectives and track areas improvement, challenges
and next steps. Work with CCO to identify new opportunities to broaden / strengthen the
conservation impact.
 Business development: Work with relevant internal stakeholders to coordinate and develop
proposals for donors. Ensure regular and appropriate communication with fundraising
opportunities, tracking them consistently on project management platforms used by
organization. Research new leads and potential funding opportunities using network or
desktop research. Work with the BD and marketing teams towards individual donations,
metrics, campaign messaging in liaison with technical leads.
 Networking & Outreach: proactively identify opportunities for CCO to be present in
conferences and speaking opportunities that raises awareness on the conservation and
climate portfolio of work being implemented by EN-WWF. Track leads and stakeholders
through project management tools to help track and identify next steps with each with CCO.
 Miscellaneous: Stay updated on the latest trends, research, and best practices in
conservation to contribute to the continuous improvement of the organization's conservation
efforts. Be proactive in evaluating the trends in the UAE and globally to support the technical
and business development efforts of the conservation unit, including the identification of
potential funding opportunities and the development of proposals. Identify opportunities to
improve internal communication and information sharing.
 Team building: support in identifying opportunities for unit team building and support in
organizing, delivering and following up on activities and needs of unit. Provide guidance and
support to team members, promoting a collaborative and high-performance work
environment. Collaborate with internal teams to build and maintain strong relationships,
ensuring effective communication and coordination internally across projects and units.
 Required qualifications

 Minimum of twelve (12) years of proven track record in environmental management,

corporate sustainability, nature conservation or relevant coordination and leadership roles
relevant to the sector.
 Master’s degree in environmental management/science, or conservation biology
 Fluent in English (written/spoken), Arabic is preferable.
 High level of cultural sensitivity and awareness with ability to work in a multi-cultural setting.
 High emotional intelligence when working with team and cross functionally and the ability to
perform and communicate effectively in challenging situations.
 Proven experience in leading teams and fostering a collaborative working environment.
 Proven knowledge and or experience in the non-for-profit sector, preferably of environmental
non-government organizations.

Competencies

Emirates Nature-WWF Focus: Acts as a member of Emirates Nature-WWF, placing higher priority
on Emirates Nature-WWF goals than own goals and anticipating the effects of own area’s actions on
others to ensure holistic Emirates Nature-WWF outcomes.

External Orientation: Looks outwards ensuring WWF stays relevant, continues to anticipate and
adapt to external environmental and global trends.

Delivering Quality Outcomes: Establishes stretch goals, plans, using best judgment and takes
responsibility for planning to and delivering on outcomes.

Building Working Relationships: Builds collaborative relationships through the understanding and
development of other’s and own ideas.

Communicating Effectively: Uses appropriate means of communication to convey messages,

seeks input from others and ensures understanding.

Leading Teams: Develops direction and shared purpose, builds a team through coaching to ensure
the accomplishment of goals and high level team performance.

Leading Change: Encourages and seeks out innovative solutions and brings people on a journey
constructively and empathetically.

Managing Resources: Makes the right judgments based on financial and resource availability.

Establishing Strategic Direction: Generates options to achieve long-range goals, selects the best
strategies for success and delivers on strategic goals.

Building Organizational Capability: Diagnoses individual and team capability and development
needs and champions talent management.

Skills required

 Analytical skills; able to write detailed technical reports

 Synthesize technical concepts into non-technical summaries
 Impact driven and with high attention to details
 Strong communication skills
 Ability to adapt quickly to project management tools
 Good knowledge of MS Office
 Adaptable, flexible, able to take initiative and prioritize among competing demands
 Working relationships

Internal - Work closely with the Conservation Unit - project teams, technical leads (programme
heads) – and across multiple units (Operations, BD, Marketing)

External - Works closely with Stakeholders, Consultants and Suppliers

*The final detailed project governance will be shared upon commencement.

Values Behavior Description

Innovation  Impact driven

 Balance between proactivity and reactivity
 Plan but not over-plan
 Implement innovatively with a future driven mindset.
 Being courageous
 Embedding MTP with impact at scale
Experiment & Solution  Embrace decision making process based on adaptive
Driven management.
 Ensure all changes in decisions do not move away from
original goal and MTP

Adaptability  Entrepreneurial
 Keeping to the ambition/vision/goal and MTP
 Ensure we are meeting the plan to achieve goals whilst
adapting tactical plans along the way

Together we are stronger  Working together as a matrix organization to implement

strongly
Integrity & Trust  Be confident
 Believe in success
 Retain high level of ethics
Additional information

Emirates Nature-WWF is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome diversity in the workplace and
offer a flexible and diverse place of employment.

Emirates Nature-WWF staff participate wholeheartedly in general activities and events that require
the full support and participation of all staff members, whether the focus of any particular event or
activity has any bearing on the job description and assigned project objectives and activities.

How to apply

Please send your application consisting of a cover letter explaining why you are the right candidate to
work with EN-WWF and your CV with the subject ‘Application for Associate Head - Conservation’ to
the attention of Ms Magdalena Tayoun on careers@enwwf.ae before 29th February 2024.

Emirates Nature reserves the right to appoint a candidate prior this date.